


the trial (an unofficial, storytale retelling of the DreamSMP lore)

by ggenevive



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Multi, Other, dreamsmp lore, trial of Dream for his war crimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:29:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29649984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggenevive/pseuds/ggenevive
Summary: Dream is on public trial for all the horrible things he did, but is that the true story?
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 38
Kudos: 98





	1. the first time L'manberg blew up

**Author's Note:**

> Yo? new book? pog.
> 
> What'd do y'all think? It's a fun way for me to tell the true history of the DreamSMP and make it entertaining. Plus I wanted to try writing the plotline of Dream's almost trial.

Dream sat calmly in the holding cell. His rapidly wandering eyes the only sign he was nervous. He twisted at his handcuffs, applying a welcomed pressure to already purple bruises. The longer he sat on the cold, unforgiving metal, the longer he had to overthink. He knew they were trying to make him nervous, and not that he would ever admit it, but their tactics were working. 

His friends had been decent enough to give him a trial for his crimes, albeit an unfair trial, it was a chance nonetheless. One x-factor was the audience, people had traveled from all over the SMP to witness the trial of Dream/L’manberg SMP v. Dream. He could only hope that the people had compassion for him. 

Unfortunately for Dream, the longer he spent staring at the ceiling, the quicker his hope faded. He was sure that they would get to speak first, already putting him at a greater disadvantage. The media was obviously biased against Dream, and with the things he had done to the children, he doubted they would ever side with him. Dream also didn’t have a lawyer, nobody wanted to speak on his behalf, preferring to speak against him and be on the right side of history.

What was taking so long? 

His thoughts drifted back to the cell he stayed in for the first few weeks pre-trial, the cell he had designed ironically. It was insufferably hot and made Dream want to rip his skin off. Even the water he had was disgustingly warm. There wasn’t anywhere to sleep, no bed, and no darkness like it had been made for sleep deprivation. The food he couldn’t complain about, it was raw and tasteless but still food. There was a clock, the only thing that informed him of life beyond the obsidian walls, but it stopped working after a couple of days. He also had journals, but he had refrained from writing in them, instead ripping out the paper and using the sharp edge to carve his emotions out of himself. 

The jingle of keys and the sound of steady footsteps pulled him back to reality. Sapnap unlocked the door, a grim look on his face. 

Dream made no attempt to speak to him and Sapnap made no attempt to acknowledge Dream’s existence. Half-dragging, half shoving Dream down the hallway to the courtroom, Dream could feel Sapnap’s irritation growing.

He could care less.

How was he gonna play this? Brutal honesty? Psychopathic? Regretful? Troubled young man? A small snicker escaped Dream, it didn’t fucking matter whether he was the most cooperative, honest, regretful person alive; it didn’t matter if he played mind games all day, his final resting place would be that goddamn prison cell. Their minds were made up before he even could step foot into the courtroom. 

The doors banged open, silencing everyone inside suddenly. Dream shrugged Sapnap off of him, walking alone, head held high, to his defendant's chair. All eyes were on him, and nobody dared to breathe. He cocked an eyebrow at the judge while smiling to himself, he didn’t even have to speak to hold the attention of thousands of people. The familiar rush of power Dream had so dearly missed came back swiftly, embracing him in an electrifying hug. He kept a cool smile on his face, betraying nothing. He had thought that he would feel so bare and exposed without his mask during the trial, but he only felt stronger. These people would never forget his face after they heard of his atrocities. 

It was decided, Dream thought to himself, if he was lucky, they’d execute him. His infamy would live on for generations yet to come. Legends never die, right?

The elderly judge rapped his gavel, “Welcome to the trial of Dream SMP v. Dream, I am judge Minos and I expect silence in my courtroom at all times from the audience, if you have commentary to make, do it outside. We will hear from the plaintiffs first.” He nodded at Sam.

Sam cleared his throat, casting an anxious glance Dream’s way, “We are accusing Dream of the following: Manipulation and Abuse of Minors, Intentional and Direct Attacks of multiple Civilian Populations, Terrorism against the former country of L’manberg, three times over, Murder, Cruel and Unusual Treatment, including Torture and Psychological Abuse, Premeditated Wrongful Imprisonment, and Forcible Transfer of Populations.”

The judge turned towards Dream, “Do you have any particular order you’d like to address these in?”

He shook his head no.

“Very well, we’ll see to all charges at some point in this case, not necessarily in order, if that works for you?” 

Another nod yes.

“Because of the ridiculous amount of witness testimonies for different crimes and Dream not having a lawyer, we will be doing this a little differently. The plaintiff and any witnesses may make statements at any time and the defendant may respond to any claims at any time. The jury will dismiss and the end of every day and make decisions and notes on whether or not they want to charge Dream. At the end of the trial, they will present their opinions and he will be charged accordingly. Does that make sense?”

Nods of yes came from both sides of the courtroom. 

“Good, Dream, if you will, make your way up to this seat, and the first witness to the opposing seat.”

“We’ll start with the most obvious, terrorism,” Sam could not make eye contact with Dream, instead choosing to address the jury, “Dream is responsible for blowing up L’manberg, not once, not twice, but three times. We would like to charge him with three counts of international terrorism and one count of intentional population displacement for these actions. He blew L'manberg to pieces multiple times for no other reason other than to display his power.”

“Excuse me,” Dream’s voice lazily cut through the air, “but if you’re going to tell the story, tell the whole story.” He sat up a little straighter in his chair and took a deep breath, “I’ve got quite the history lesson for you folks, sit tight," and in that moment Dream decided that if he was suffering either way, he may as well make sure thee history books were correct, "Dream SMP was a peaceful nation before Tommyinnit and Wilbur Soot joined. Upon acceptance into the Dream SMP as a nation, they were told to not grief, steal, or attack others unprovoked. Tommyinnit, immediately and without hesitation stole from me and my friends, and continued to steal on an almost daily basis. He also participated in many ‘money-making’ scams that were deemed unlawful many times over. Some point along the line, Wilbur Soot convinced Tommy to open up an illegal drug van to make money. Now,” he paused, cocking an eyebrow at the jury, “This is illegal by not only my laws, but by international law as well. They also stole supplies that they needed to open and run this criminal drug lab. Thus, the Caravan is born. Sapnap and Tubbo both become suspicious at this point, their supplies are missing and rumors about Wilbur Soot and Tommyinnit using drugs for personal power are circulating. Heading to confront the two, Tubbo is convinced to join the drug ring, while Sapnap is framed as an addict by Wilbur’s own son Fundy. Keeping up?”

A voice from the jury interrupted Dream, “Is this really necessary?”

He chuckled, “Oh, very. I believe that many of us here have been fed a story weaved with lies and dishonesty; lies so well told that they themselves believe it. Continuing, Tubbo goes on to gather more supplies for the Caravan, while Sapnap tries to convince Fundy he isn’t an addict and that his father is lying to him. When he can’t persuade the fox boy, he attempts to legally and rightfully arrest Tommyinnt and Wilbur Soot, but is unable to do so as he is outnumbered. He came to me later that night and we decided that if they weren’t going to cause problems, we could let it slide. Sapnap returns to the Caravan, now complete with a flaming hot dog, and finds Fundy also now working in the drug lab. He proceeded to ask him for drugs in exchange for blaze rods, Wilbur refused him service, which I suppose is in his legal right to do so, but this entire business is an illegal one so the rules regarding customer service are iffy.” 

This earns a soft laugh from a few of the audience members, perhaps telling the truth did get him somewhere.

Dream smiles and relaxes, “Wilbur Soot declares that they need walls, and L’manberg is born. They declare that there will be no armor in L’manburg, that ‘we’ll win wars with our words’, is the direct quote I believe and then inform me that they plan to recede from the Dream SMP and announce independence, all because they wanted to run illicit drugs.” He paused, taking a sip of water, “Obviously I was a tad put-off by this so, I may have called L’manberg the ‘Land of Pussies’ or something like that. Now, as much as I wanted peace, I can’t exactly let this slide. Anyone who is in charge of nations knows how complicated independence can be. One faction declaring independence can cause entire nations to crumble and conflict to breakout. So, as the respectable leader I was, I told them this was unacceptable and the majority of them still had houses on my land, owned businesses on my land, and traveled through my land, announcing independence seemed petty and idiotic. But, they insisted, Eret joins and the revolution is official. Any questions?”  
Sam turned towards Tommy and Tubbo, “Is this true?”

The kids could only nod their heads in shame. Gasps of surprise and intrigue echoed throughout the courtroom. This story had gotten a lot more complicated.

“They write a ‘Declaration of Independance’, yes it’s incorrectly spelled, and blab on about the tyranny of their ruler, and say that I had imprisoned them and killed them and that they were separating themself from the great sin that was the DreamSMP. These were clearly falsehoods, I had only acted on the law that I had clearly spelled out for them many times over and in general, didn’t give a fuck about what they did. Punz, George, Sapnap, and I already formed a coalition to uphold the law and prepared for battle. I will note that this includes mild arson in the areas surrounding L’manberg, in an attempt to flush them out for resources. Tommyinnit formed the 5th Battalion, I believe that’s what it was called, and attempted to battle us at the L’manberg Embassy in the Dream SMP, but were driven out and headed to another battle tower. This results in a standstill, us returning arrows back and forth from different towers. Eventually, both sides retreat. Now, journalists of the court, this is where it gets interesting. One of their members, Eret, had betrayed them for a seat on the throne, and he led them to a secret control room under L’manburg. Spoiler alert, it’s a room rigged with harming potions and my team is hiding in the walls, ready to attack. Eret goes on with some iconic quote and we easily defeat them. I give them thirty minutes to raise their white flags before I blow L’manberg to pieces.”

The room was silent, enthralled by Dream’s retelling of history. He glanced over at the SMP members, their heads in their hands.

“Wilbur, rest in peace, calls me on my bluff. I, in turn, light a single piece of TNT that sets off all TNT that was carefully laid below L’manberg at a previous time. They escape through secret tunnels and attempt to salvage their country. Tommy then makes me an offer, the discs that I so desperately want from him, and duel in return for their independence.” 

He swivels in his chair to peer at the audience, “I’m sure you’re all wondering what the discs are, and I promise you, that story will be told in this room. I accept the deal. Tommy and I have a one-shot duel that I win. He must give me both discs now, and he does. L’manberg has their independence. They sign a decree and sort out their government. All is good.”

“Is that all?” Questions a younger juror. 

Dream smiles ruefully, “No darling, that’s just the first time L’manberg blew up."


	2. the second time manberg blew up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream delves into the second time TNT blew L'manberg to pieces, the logic of the SMP members is questioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really liking this book, Ik it's not a lot of original plot development but I like to put some character behind Dream. I've also wanted to write how I envision a trial going, so here it is. Lmk if you like it!

“The second time L’manberg blew up was only partially my fault.” Dream had confidence now, people were listening to him! “TommyInnit and Wilbur Soot had been exiled from their own country after losing a presidential election. It should be noted that they lost fair and square, and yet people still portray them as heroes. They fled L’manberg to create Pogtopia, now abandoned, and planned a coup d'état that was tastefully called a rebellion. I will admit that they had the support of the majority of SMP members in overthrowing Jschlatt, he was still elected by the people. Wilbur and Tommy insisted they were in the right and asked Tubbo to spy for them. With the information, supplies, and people they had recruited and gathered, the two planned for an execution disguised as a festival. Wilbur came to me a few days before the festival and begged for TNT.” 

Dream squinted his eyes, lost in a memory. Every breath in the courtroom echoed loudly, each person 

“I had already given my loyalties to Jschlatt, siding with the legal government to keep the peace, but I gave Wilbur stacks of TNT anyways. I suppose that you could be led to believe I wanted chaos and was playing both sides. Hell, I said just as much. That doesn’t detract from the fact that Wilbur was a grown man and very capable of making his own decisions. Anyways, Tommy and Wilbur had some internal conflict about Manberg; Tommy wanted to save it and Wilbur wanted to blow it to pieces. I believe that without Tommy’s knowledge, Wilbur planted the TNT beneath Manberg and set up the final control room. Skipping forward to the festival, Tubbo was exposed as a spy and was executed by Technoblade, the SMP's resident anarchist. Pogtopia’s plan had failed.”

“Excuse me,” Judge Minos held his hand up, “You didn’t blow Manberg up?”

“No, I did provide supplies and did encourage it, but technically, I did not. Skipping ahead further, the majority of SMP member’s confront and corner Jschlatt,”

“And you were there?”

“Yes. The old man dies of a fucking heart attack of all things, and Tommy gives Tubbo the role of president, claiming he has to attend to his own things first. Wilbur disappeared sometime during this inauguration and clicks the button, blowing L’manberg to pieces, and is promptly murdered by his own father. People scatter and in the rubbles, Tommy and Technoblade have an argument causing Techno to release two withers on the already weakened people.”

“Is this something you encouraged?”

Dream’s face fell slightly, “Yes.”

“Honesty is valued in this courtroom.” Judge Minos gave Dream a look he could not decipher. 

“Battle breaks out, not one that I was very involved in. Eventually, things calm down. L’manberg rebuilds with Tubbo as the president.”

“So,” A juror speaks up, “What I’m hearing is that you blew up L’manberg for rebelling, which is not a crime during war times -so long as it’s reasonable-, and only had indirect involvement the second time?”

He looked at the SMP members, “I believe so. Does anyone disagree?”

Eret broke the tense silence that followed, “Dream hasn’t lied. Yet.”

Dream slouched, “The third time L’manberg blew up, was my fault. I won’t say it was unprovoked, but I will say it was extreme and a tad cruel.” He paused, collecting his words, “There was a group called the Butcher Army, they were convinced to take revenge on Techo, for destroying their country, and me, because I was the cause of all the problems on the server.”

“How do you know about that!?”

“I just do Tubbo, anyways they had already attempted to execute Techno but he survived,”

Techno interrupted him, “Dream actually helped me escape and returned my stolen items to me.”

Dream ignored him. “He survived and they changed targets. Planning a festival called to kill me, ironically. I was invited but never showed until the very end when I began building obsidian walls surrounding L’manberg for the second time. When the festival-goers questioned me, I led them to the community house. It was the first house on the server and very dear to my heart. When we arrived, it was blown to pieces. I automatically presumed Tommy had done it, he was exiled at that point in time but had disappeared. I assumed that it was his way of getting back at me. Tommy seems content to blame me for all the wrongdoings of the server while simultaneously refusing to take responsibility for his own actions.”

Glares were sent his way from the SMP members, “Oh don’t give me that look. Just because he’s sixteen doesn’t mean he’s automatically excused from accepting the consequences of his actions.”

“He’s a traumatized kid Dream!”

“And the rest of us aren’t suffering from trauma too? The rest of us haven’t lost people, pets, and homes in the never-ending wars? Your excuses are fragile and ignorant.” He took a deep breath, “Tommy appeared out of nowhere and he and Tubbo got into a heated argument but ended up reconciling with each other, and betraying Technoblade. After their argument, I ended up with both discs in my possession, don’t worry we’ll get to the disc saga at some point, and said some pretty nasty things to Tubbo before leaving. I also brought Ranboo’s betrayal of L’manberg to light. Now, Techno has made his opinions and intentions very clear from day one; he doesn’t like any government, he wouldn't participate in violence if unprovoked, and Techno doesn’t die. He declared war on L’manberg, declaring that he would finish what Wilbur started, I joined forces with him, both of us still a tad bitter about our attempted assassinations. They had 21 hours to prepare for Doomsday.”

“Excuse me, sorry another question,” The same juror spoke glancing down at her notes, “If Punz, Sapnap, Eret, and George were all equally as compliant with the first time L’manberg blew up and Wilbur and Techno were both major accomplices in the second and third times L’manberg blew up, why are they not on trial?” Her piercing gaze turned towards the plaintiffs, “Why do you accept them into your ranks? Why are you so intent on placing the guilt all on one person? Is it because it’s easy? Or is it because you have painted the picture for so long that you thought this trial was going to be simple and clear-cut? Before I arrived here today, the things I had heard created a very different story than one that is being told right now, and none of you are disagreeing with him because you're under oath. It would be lying to disagree with him, would it not?”

Dream spoke before anyone else could protest, “I appreciate the support, but I’ve done some fucked up things and I know that. They spoke first and I let them. All my sins and transgressions will be laid out for everyone to see eventually. Make your judge of character then.”

He let his words settle in the court before speaking again, "It was everyone except Sapnap and a few neutral parties versus Techno and I. I suspected that it would be the end, and you gotta go out with a bang right?"


End file.
